


The Empty Room

by baccuroth (orphan_account)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-06
Updated: 2015-06-06
Packaged: 2018-04-02 21:02:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4073746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/baccuroth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>an architect meets a photographer in paris.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Empty Room

**Author's Note:**

> the title is from "la pièce vide" by yann tiersen. thanks to nanna for pretty much everything. [this](http://apartments-rental.yellowstay.eu/apartment-details.php?products_id=57) is the layout of levi's flat.

“First time in Paris?”

Erwin juggled his attache case and hotel room keycard. He wasn’t entirely sure why he hadn’t pocketed that yet. His first morning abroad had been going south since he woke just before six.

“What do you think so far?”

“Ah. Haven’t seen much of it yet. My flight was delayed so I didn’t get in until very late last night. Good thing I can sleep on planes,” he added as an afterthought. Everything put away, Erwin took a deep breath to center himself.

This restoration project had come out of nowhere and Erwin found himself in Paris without a phrasebook much less a proper translator. “We’ll get that figured out before too long,” his boss had texted when Erwin was somewhere over the Atlantic.

“Would have been nice to have everything sorted before I goddamn landed,” he hissed under his breath.

A flash and a click shook Erwin loose from his thoughts.

A late spring rain had gilded the streets, its golden light blinding Erwin for a moment as he looked toward the sound.

A young man lowered a camera, looking down to tweak a dial.

“Excuse me.” Erwin began to stride across the lobby. His bad mood wasn’t going to abide some hipster from- “Do you always take people’s pictures without asking permission?”

He was greeted by a graceful shrug. “Only if they’re too busy to notice, which you obviously weren’t.”

Erwin breathed hard through his nose.

“Ah!” It was the employee who was helping Erwin prepare for the upcoming meeting. “M. Ackerman is here. Come along. It is time to begin.”

Making sure his camera was secure around his neck, M. Ackerman pushed past Erwin.

* * *

The man leading the meeting was the epitome of a Frenchmen to an American like Erwin, who could barely make out his thickly-accented English. Erwin stared at his blank notepad in despair.

“Don’t pay any attention to him. He’s full of hot air and who knows what else.”

It was M. Ackerman - Levi, as Erwin had learned - a part-time employee of a historical organization the long-winded name of which escaped Erwin’s sleep-desperate mind.

“ _Ici_.” Levi pushed a notebook toward Erwin. In small, neat print was a handful of bullet points and even a few amateur sketches of the buildings being discussed. “I’ll explain things when we break for lunch.”

Erwin nodded, the tightness in his chest disappearing as he started to understand what was going on.

* * *

Erwin wasn’t sure he could eat anything much less the entire spread on the cafe table. Levi was a fastidious diner and described everything once it was set down. His index finger pressed to the back of his fork, he rattled off a French name followed by a brief history and a breakdown of the ingredients.

“Try this.” He held out a spoon of some kind of jellied meat to Erwin’s lips, lowering it when he got no response. “Are you still upset about my taking your picture?”

“No. It only took me by surprise. Look.” Erwin pulled at the napkin Levi had tucked into the collar of his dress shirt and dropped it, crumpled, beside his untouched cutlery. “I’ve never been in Paris before. My boss just handed me a file, put me on a plane, and I know nothing about what I’m doing apart from working with some groups interested in the construction of some new buildings while trying to preserve some really old ones.”

Levi put his elbows on the table, resting his chin on folded hands. “Sounds fairly straightforward to me.”

Erwin barked out a laugh and sagged in his seat. “I’m really out of my element here. I should have asked for an extension or something. Hell, I’d probably be less confused in Hong Kong.”

“ _Et très fatigué_.” Levi smiled at the withering look Erwin gave him. “ _Pauvre bête_ , I’ll help you along. It is my job to make sure you don’t fuck up the existing structures. Le quartier latin doesn’t need to look like La Defense.”

Levi scowled and Erwin thought it was adorable.

Erwin tried the spoonful of gelled meat, made a face, and turned toward the more recognizable fare on the table before following Levi back to the meeting.

* * *

“Get some rest and then meet me here at eight _à minuit pile_.”

Levi’s sentences, Erwin had noticed over the past several hours, were peppered with his native French. With a moment of thought, Erwin usually got the gist of what he was saying.

Erwin wasn’t too keen on seeing Paris as a tourist. He wasn’t the culture or history type, outside of architecture, and the city of light or love or whatever people were calling it now had never been on his must-see list. He wanted a comfortable bed and a stiff drink. Erwin also wanted to know more about M. Levi Ackerman and the camera he wore around his neck. It had stared at him accusingly on the table as Levi chattered about the project or the food or why Erwin looked on the verge of passing out.

If anything, he looked like someone who would be more reserved. His shirt was buttoned up to his throat and while the cut of his black slacks was demure, Erwin could tell he had a fantastic ass. Everything about him was very straightforward and teasing.

Splashing water on to his face when he got back to his room, Erwin threw himself onto his bed, looking for a few hours of rest before the rendezvous with his personal tour guide.

* * *

“Why did you start taking pictures?”

Another elegant shrug. “My grandfather died and left my mother a trunk full of various things. I got to pick something so I picked this.” Levi held the camera up reverentially, fingers delicate around the lens. “I picked very well. Hasselblads are not cheap.” Levi lifted the camera to his eye and the shutter clicked, freezing a shadow on a wall. “I have several digital ones as to use for my freelance work, mostly weddings, but I prefer film, when I can find it, for my quotidian and boudoir experiments.”

Erwin stopped walking. “Did you just say boudoir?”

“ _Oui_. Of myself and a few others. An artist is always his best model, of course.”

That was the end of the conversation dealing with Levi’s camera and what he did with it. They walked along the boundary of the fifth and sixth arrondissements before returning to the doorstep of Erwin’s hotel.

“Thanks for helping me make a little more sense of this.” Erwin waved a hand at the city before them.

“It’s no problem, M. Smith. Sleep well.”

Levi disappeared around the corner after taking another shot of Erwin, leaving him to think about boudoir and what that might entail.

Erwin imagined Levi’s naked waist against a bold backdrop. He didn’t sleep well that night, but it had little to do with jetlag.

* * *

A knock on his door early the next morning aroused Erwin from a series of strange dreams.

“Get up, M. Smith. There is much of Paris waiting to be seen by you.”

“Levi? Erwin rubbed his eyes. It was a quarter past seven. He needed to piss and then go back to sleep. His first meeting wasn’t until ten.

“ _Oui, c’est moi_. I’m coming in.”

“The door-”

Clicked open.

Levi stood at the foot of his bed in a similar ensemble to the day before, although his white shirt and dark slacks included a tailored jacket. His Hasselblad around his neck, Levi seemed ready to conquer the day while Erwin wanted to hide from it.

“How did you-”

“I can talk anyone into doing just about anything. _Non_ ,” Levi changed course suddenly, “I told the concierge that it was a professional emergency. Come on, we can grab a croissant on our way out. There is so much to see before we must be locked up in that damned boardroom again.”

Erwin rubbed his eyes again, about to snap when Levi threw open his wardrobe and began pushing shirts and slacks and socks around. “Goodness. Everything is so boring with you Americans.”

“Yes, I can see how adventurous you French are.” Erwin made a point of looking Levi’s neutral clothing over when Levi looked at him over his shoulder. He pushed himself onto his elbows and looked around.

“I save all my… adventure for when I’m home with my camera. I doubt you do the same. Vite, vite, M. Smith.” He threw the pants and shirt over Erwin’s head before going to close the door, which he had left open in his haste.

“Alright, I guess I don’t have much choice.” Pushing his legs into the pants and his arms into the shirt, Erwin stood and began to zip zippers and button buttons. Levi looked at him with a photographer’s appraising eye and Erwin turned away, embarrassed that he was embarrassed by it. He hoped Levi couldn’t see the red in his cheeks and ears.

“Breakfast is a big deal for you, yes?”

They were down on the street, Erwin breathing in the air to see if it was truly different from that of New York.

“I suppose.” Erwin usually had a protein shakes or a granola bar of some kind. The awful communal coffee at work tended to turn him off from everything until lunch.

“Well, it isn’t here. As you saw yesterday, we French are all about dejeuner, but we can’t have your stomach growling.” He patted Erwin’s stomach, grinning when Erwin jumped back in surprise. “We’ll find something for you.”

* * *

By the time they made it to the Seine, Erwin had a new love in his life: the pain au chocolat. A square of melted dark chocolate in a blob of perfectly-flaky dough, Erwin could have eaten a dozen. Removing a pair of sunglasses from his bag, Levi stared pointedly at Erwin’s midsection before saying he didn’t think Erwin’s lovely figure could handle such sweet abuse.

“So,” Erwin crumbled up a napkin and deposited it in a bin, “what are we going to see first?”

“We are going to walk. Paris is not so big that it cannot be explored mostly on foot. Par example, It is only a handful of miles along the Seine but that is for another day.”

The soles of Erwin’s feet sent shooting pain up his legs at the thought.

“Thank God for that.”

“I think Notre Dame is a good place to start. The Petit Pont isn’t far.”

* * *

They arrived just as the doors were opening for the day. It was cool inside, splashes of sunlight rendered into a rainbow of colors across the walls and chairs.

The whispers of incense teased Erwin’s nostrils and he craned his head up to take in the architecture, sorting through his memory to recall when the cathedral had been built and what had gone into such a massive undertaking.

Levi wandered off, finger on the shutter release but Erwin didn’t see him take a single shot.

The day had grown brighter when they stepped outside and Erwin was annoyed he hadn’t thought of picking up some sunglasses.

“Here.” Levi plucked his own off and deposited them on Erwin’s nose. “You have enough wrinkles around your eyes without needing more from squinting into the sun.”

“You’re very blunt.”

“Very French,” Levi clarified before pulling Erwin toward the Pont Notre-Dame and onto the Right Bank.

* * *

Erwin didn’t see Levi every day. A proper translator materialized, handling all of Erwin’s questions regarding the project, and Levi’s part in the restoration and new construction seemed to be wrapped up or at least moved to a stage that didn’t require meetings or constant communication.

As he took a light lunch at a nearby cafe two weeks into his arrival, he wondered how Levi could afford to live in the city given he only worked part-time. His freelance wedding photography must be steady and well-paid.

‘Boudoir shots can’t pay the bills,’ he thought as he settled that of his meal.

Walking the short distance to his hotel, Erwin wished he had asked for his number. For anyone else, it would have been too forward to ask; Erwin didn’t think Levi would mind too much.

“Dammit.” He fished his keycard out of his pocket and sighed at the cool puff of air washing over his face. Erwin toed his shoes off and reached for the map sitting on the table. Levi had marked off spots of interest, drawing a dark line through each as they made their way through the list.

There had been two more days of sightseeing, including a full Tuesday of the Louvre and Musee d’Orsay. Levi’s ribald jokes for many of the paintings they saw made them stick out in Erwin’s mind and he laughed. Thinking about Levi’s comments made a long day of work seem easy.

Lying in bed that night, Erwin wondered if Levi was thinking about him.

“Silly American,” he would say when Erwin did something.

Erwin would blush and feel… well, silly for doing so.

He still needed to return Levi’s glasses. They sat on his nightstand beside his phone.

Which rang suddenly.

The number was unlisted but Erwin answered it.

“M. Smith. I think you’re beginning to ignore me.”

Instead of asking where Levi got his phone number, Erwin sat up in bed and turned on the bedside lamp.

“I can’t help it if I’m busy. If I knew where you lived, I would have burst into your bedroom by now.”

‘God, I feel like a girl in high school.’

If there were a cord attached to his phone, Erwin knew he would have been twisting it around his restless fingers.

* * *

“I was wondering where those got to.” Levi turned his face up as Erwin set his sunglasses on his nose. “Merci.” He moved his nose around as though it itched before deeming the glasses in the correct position. “Do you want to do something after work?”

Erwin was on lunch. Levi showing up was a pleasant surprise.

“I was thinking we could go to a bar. That is a thing you do here, right?”

“Yes,” Levi said slowly. Erwin had a feeling his eyes were narrowed slits under the darkness of his glasses.

“Do you know of any good places?”

“There are a few near my flat. Hmm.” Levi counted silently, touching index finger to fingertip. “ _Ici_.” He took a pen from Erwin’s jacket pocket and neatly wrote a number on Erwin’s palm.

“Avenue Junot?”

“I’ll meet you on the corner of that and Rue Girardon at nine. If we’re not too drunk after, I’ll show you the windmill.”

“Windmill?”

“Like the Moulin Rouge, bête.” Levi folded Erwin’s fingers over his palm. “Don’t smear it.”

The heat of Levi’s hand lingered on his skin. “I won’t.”

* * *

Levi’s camera sat on the table with its strap coiled around like a protective moat. Erwin’s fingers itched to touch it, inching across the scarred surface of the table.

“I’m not going to cut your hand off, Erwin.”

He pulled his hand back, folding his fingers as another round of drinks was delivered; wine for Levi and beer for Erwin. He pretended not to notice the disgusted look on Levi’s face.

They discussed their jobs, their upbringings, anything that came to mind as the bar grew louder and fuller. The beer was cold and the wine slightly sweet. Erwin wished he could end every work day like this, as long as he was sharing the conversation with Levi.

“When we first met, you mentioned you do quotidian - “daily,” I actually looked that one up - and boudoir photography. I’m thinking Victorian-era erotica kind of stuff?”

“ _Un peu_.” Levi looked at him dumbly. He licked his bottom lip and shifted position on the stuffed booth seat. His eyes took in the crowd and he drained his glass before leaning across the table. “I touch myself and take pictures.”

“Of what?”

Levi’s breath was hot and wet against Erwin’s ear. “Of myself. Sometimes I come, other times I have someone with me. It depends on how I’m feeling.” He sat back, gauging Erwin’s expression.

Erwin could only imagine all of that. He could barely remember when he’d last been on a date much less intimate with someone. Levi’s strange blend of exuberance and crassness and Frenchness was teasing every vulnerable spot Erwin had.

“Well?” The shutter of Levi’s camera clicked loudly. “What do you think about that, M. Smith?”

Erwin thought about kissing Levi until he moaned into his mouth, hooking fingers into him and making him cry out. So many filthy things he could say for Levi’s ears alone.

“I think… I’m starting to get drunk.”

Levi leaned forward again. “Tell me what you think. I don’t care if you’re drunk.”

“I would really like to go back to your place and just fuck you.”

The tip of Levi’s nose touched Erwin’s cheek. “As nice as that would be-”

Another round of drinks was set on the table and Levi pulled away. The moment lost, Erwin took up the camera Levi had abandoned on the table.

“Ha. Finally the tables have turned.” His fingers were restless, always were when Levi was on his mind. He hoped he got to see the picture he’d taken. Levi’s cheeks and lips would be flushed, his hair artfully tousled, white throat disappearing into a wine-dark sweater.

They parted after that, Erwin waiting on the curb for a cab. Levi didn’t invite him to his place and Erwin wasn’t going to press for an invitation. He felt like an idiot anyway.

“Erwin.”

“Hmm?”

Levi’s lips met his as the cab headlights flashed down the street. It was an uncomplicated kiss but it made the thoughts in Erwin’s mind decidedly less simple.

“You should drink less next time,” Levi said in parting.

* * *

Erwin didn’t see Levi for the last week of his time in Paris. There were no more phone calls and Levi didn’t show up unannounced during his lunch hour. He found himself desperately alone with his steady, empty hands.

Returning to his hotel on his last day in the city, Erwin tried to forget the strange, sweet-and-sour Frenchmen who had made his stay more colorful than he had expected.

“Ah, M. Smith!” The concierge waved an envelope, striding across the lobby as Erwin took his first step up the stairs. “This was left for you after you stepped out this morning.”

“ _Merci_.”

Only his name was written on the envelope and Erwin tore the flap open as he cleared the second landing. It was the photo from the bar. Levi looked just as elegant as Erwin imagined. Everything dimmed when he saw that dark shirt and pale skin and the way Levi’s mouth begged to be kissed and consumed.

“I don’t show my face to anyone,” was written on the back, “but I’ll make an exception for you.”

Erwin knew he couldn’t find his way back to the bar if he tried and kicked himself while he threw clothes and toiletries into his suitcase. He had an early flight the next morning and his body screamed for sleep.

The photo, tucked into his attache case, rested on his lap during the long flight to New York.

* * *

“It sounds like you had a better time than you thought you would.”

Nile was one of Erwin’s only friends. They had gone to school together - Erwin in architecture, Nile in pre-law - before ending up as two more worms in the Big Apple.

“I still felt like I was drowning with regards to work but I did meet… I made a friend.”

Erwin knew if Nile - or worse, his wife - had been there, they wouldn’t have let that slip by.

“Right. Ah. We’re finally getting called in. Let me know when you have a free night. Marie never shuts up about how you don’t come over for dinner as often anymore.”

“Will do. Good luck.”

“Same.”

Erwin set his phone down and spun his chair around to face the window.

New York was a world away from Paris in both look and feel. And yes, he had decided, the air did smell different. Levi’s photo sat in the drawer of his nightstand. It was already smudged with fingerprints, crinkled on one corner. A closer look told Erwin that Levi had developed it himself. He was still kicking himself over how he’d acted at the bar.

* * *

One week turned into six and suddenly Erwin was walking into the middle of a hot summer. He traded his heavy suits for lighter fabrics and tried to forget about that spring chill along the Seine as Levi dragged him to Notre Dame.

He had resumed his usual routine of waking early, running a mile or two on the treadmill, going to work, coming home, going through the usual detritus of opening mail, doing laundry, making something to eat, and finally, sleep. Maybe he would take Nile and Marie up on their offer just to shake things up a bit. Life seemed more boring than before he went to Paris.

Amid the credit card offers and various things, there was a small package. Erwin nearly dropped it all when he noticed the postage was French.

The small book was handsewn between a cover of thick, clear plastic, no more than two dozen pages in total. A tremor in his fingers made the booklet shake. Setting everything down, Erwin went to the window. The last rays of the sun caught the plastic and made the first picture glow.

Levi was lying on a bed, hips raised as he tugged on a pair of pants. His hipbones were graced with shadow, light growing fuzzy as it was filtered through the soft hairs below his navel. There was something intensely intimate about the disembodied shot. Erwin thought his palms might cup those sharp bones perfectly.

There was one of Levi’s hair fanned out across a crisp white pillowcase and another of his head thrown back, adam’s apple hard against a dark curtain out of focus in the background. The edges of each thick page bit into his fingers but Erwin paid that no mind, hungry for what Levi had to show him next.

Every shot excluded his face but he was teased by Levi’s chin or mouth. One featured another man, mop of dark blond hair against Levi’s back as he kissed down his spine. Erwin wanted to know what he tasted like there, and lower where it must have been earthy and divine.

He hadn’t thought of such things in so long, Erwin had to close the photo book and breathe.

It was fully dark when he reached the last page. Levi lay on his bed alone, curled in a helpless ball. Erwin could trace every notch of spine with a finger. Written below was a website url and an email address.

Any thought of calling Nile and Marie for dinner evaporated as Erwin stumbled into his office to turn on his computer.

* * *

The website was a photo blog hosted on Tumblr, the description reading “Paris et Quotidien.” It was a heady mix of everyday stuff - things Levi had taken photos of when leading Erwin around the city - and the things contained in that little photo book.

There was nothing banal about Levi’s “boudoir” work. It was intimate and provocative, Levi with faceless men or touching himself or innocently studying the planes and angles of his own anatomy through the lens of a camera. He had an eye for detail that astounded Erwin. There was always something in each photograph, no matter how innocent, that surprised you upon looking again.

It felt like every free moment of Erwin’s time was spent browsing the blog’s archive or exchanging emails. Pride blossomed in his chest when he read the messages people sent Levi and how he only seemed to publish those asking about what equipment or filters he used. Was anyone else getting to discuss everything else with him?

Erwin asked.

“No. Only you.”

He could hear him say it, plucking the answer out on his phone when he was at work or shooting a wedding or simply unwinding at the end of a silver-skied day.

Erwin wanted to go back immediately but new projects came across his desk and he had to content himself with the daily emails and weekly tumblr uploads. He was always eager to see Paris through Levi’s camera.

“What makes me so special?”

Levi evaded the question but Erwin could almost see his elegant shrug.

* * *

“So you met this guy while you were working in Paris?”

After two weeks without so much as a phone call, Erwin wasn’t able to beg off having dinner at the Dawk’s.

Their trio of children with a neighbor, Nile and Marie entertained their sole guest with good wine, a decent steak, and as much panache as an overworked trial lawyer and his stay-at-home wife could muster.

“He was involved in the project so it’s not like I picked him up at a bar or anything.”

“Any plans to get together again?”

“We just email back and forth. We’re busy enough. Besides, it isn’t anything serious.”

‘I’m just thinking about him all the time and the pictures he sends me are so beautiful and intimate I forget how to breathe sometimes.’

“I’m just glad you have something of interest outside of work.” Nile left to get a fresh bottle of wine.

Marie watched him go before asking Erwin if he and Levi had fucked yet.

“Christ, Marie!”

She rolled her eyes. “You never get back from the kitchen so fast.”

Nile poured Erwin another glass.

“Well? Have you?”

“Marie!”

“No,” Erwin said with a soft laugh. “We parted ways with a drunken kiss. I didn’t even see him during my last week there.”

Erwin wanted to put his foot in his mouth and chew.

Marie reached across the table to pat his hand. Nile was still flustered by his wife’s boldness.

* * *

He returned to his empty, too-big apartment. From what he could see, Levi lived in a one bedroom. Erwin thought of him brewing tea as he edited photos or responded to an email Erwin had sent when it was still early morning in Paris and Levi was asleep.

It was still early when he went to bed. His office computer was off and television or bar hopping had never interested him much. There was only so much running he could do in a single day. Erwin was glad to slip beneath the cool sheets.

Flipping through the small photo book again, Erwin traced planes of flesh and curves of bone with a fingertip. Setting it on his nightstand, he pulled the drawer open and took out the bar photo.

Erwin pushed the sheets down, fingers skipping across his bare stomach and making him suck in a cold breath at the touch.

He was half hard, almost weeping, and the image of Levi, bitten bottom lip the only color in a sea of blacks and greys and whites, sent his thoughts spiraling.

It had been a long time since he’d touched himself and Levi’s French-peppered words pulled him along. Grip tightening, moving fast, his chest rose and fell with stuttering breaths. He would take Levi’s nipples, framed by an innocently-splayed hand, between his teeth and-

The tension in his lower back lifted as he came, hand loosening around his erection as it began to flag. He could almost feel Levi’s sharp tongue licking him clean.

“Fuck.”

Erwin took a cold, midnight shower.

He needed to get back to Paris.

* * *

The next few months passed in a deluge of projects and holidays. Like Erwin, Levi didn’t celebrate much of anything but it usually gave them a chance to talk on the phone since their schedules were more likely to mesh.

On Thanksgiving, after a brief stop at the Dawks’, Erwin found himself on his computer with Levi’s voice guiding him through the latest series of photos he had posted online.

A question had been bothering him over the length of their transatlantic emails. What was Levi getting out of this? Erwin knew his teasing wasn’t mean-spirited. Levi wasn’t, didn’t seem like that kind of person. Did he want Erwin’s opinion on his work, or was their something more personal to the photo album still sitting on Erwin’s nightstand?

“Levi? What are you getting out of this?”

The following silence was so long, Erwin thought he’d lost his internet connection.

“Have you thought of yourself in my photos? With me, I mean.”

“No,” Erwin blurted out.

He honestly hadn’t. Any intimate interaction with Levi had taken place in an empty room with the sun filtering onto a low, wide bed. They would tumble and kiss across the white sheets, gasping against each other’s mouths. There were no cameras there. The planes and angles of Levi’s body were for Erwin’s hands and mouth alone, not for the eyes of a curious public.

“Hmm,” Levi’s voice filtered into Erwin’s thoughts gently. “I have.”

* * *

Those two words sent Erwin’s mind spiraling again.

Levi’s revelation seemed to open a new chapter in their story and his emails included more explicit photos, longer expositions that Erwin read with hunger.

Erwin tried to reconcile the cool, somewhat silly creature Levi had been in Paris with this side of him. Levi was just as confident but it was a startling confidence. Erwin wanted to see if it touched his eyes. He wanted Levi to stare into the camera and touch himself.

Just before Christmas, Erwin got the best of all possible presents.

It took no time at all to pack his suitcase, pocket his passport, and depart once more for Charles de Gaulle Airport.

* * *

He was well in control of himself, spending six days in Paris before calling Levi. The work was no different than before and his earlier confusion had evaporated. Erwin even took the time to explore parts of the city Levi hadn’t been able to take him to. He thought about asking Levi to take him to Versailles and imagined dozens of Levis prancing in the hall of mirrors.

It was snowing when he called, hand sweaty around the phone. Levi picked up on the third ring.

“Levi.”

“Ah. I wasn’t expecting a call from you until Christmas.”

Erwin’s excitement dimmed somewhat. “I’m in town.” A long pause. He was used to them by now. “I was hoping to take you out dinner if you know of a place that wouldn’t be too busy. I want to thank you for all your help when I was here last.”

Levi’s hum was sugar on Erwin’s ears. “I might know of a few places. When did you want to get together?”

“Friday night, if possible.”

“Okay. I’ll look around.”

Erwin ended the call, triumphant.

Friday was three days away. Erwin had learned patience.

* * *

When they began discussing Levi’s bedroom work some months earlier, he referred to it as an ‘adventure.’

“My everyday job is menial and while I enjoy shooting for weddings and engagements and all that, being around so many people can be exhausting. There isn’t much room to spread my wings, as some people say. Being alone in my room is far more liberating.”

Erwin had nothing like that in his life. He found some freedom in his architectural designs but there was so much softness and openness in the photos Levi took. Even those of shadows and grass opened a wound in Erwin that bled something unfamiliar yet wonderful.

When Friday came, Erwin knew what he wanted. He wanted to taste some of that adventure.

* * *

There were only a dozen or so other diners in the restaurant. It was fairly exclusive and thus expensive but Erwin didn’t mind the cost. Hearing Levi’s voice in the flesh, seeing the graceful curve of his throat in person was worth any amount of money.

Erwin thought about how his own life had become something of an adventure since coming to Paris. He couldn’t remember what he did outside of work before back-and-forth emails and discovering Levi’s body without having really touched it. New York was quickly losing any luster it might have had; he was beginning to prefer the patina of Paris.

“Erwin?” The third course had just been set before them, a simple salad drizzled with raw honey, but Erwin was hungering more for Levi’s words. “Does it bother you, everyone else seeing me like that?”

“I don’t own you, Levi.” Erwin’s hand trembled against his thigh.

“Of course you don’t.” Levi’s hand cut through the air. “But what if I only wanted to take them for you?” His hand found Erwin’s on the table, fingertip running down the middle of one finger.

Erwin turned his hand over, letting Levi trace the lines on his palm. “It’s up to you.”

Levi took Erwin’s hand in his and brought it to his mouth. He nuzzled his palm, pressing a gentle kiss to the underside of his wrist.

The salad lay forgotten between them, Erwin’s breath held in the cage of his chest.

“Erwin, do you want to go back to my apartment?”

Erwin’s fingers touched his jaw, thumb just under his left eye. “I do. I want to be part of your adventure, I think you called it, if you’re willing to indulge me.” His thumb moved down to rest over Levi’s bottom lip.

“ _Absolument_.”

* * *

Levi’s apartment was small but immaculate. The front door opened onto the kitchen and bathroom, and walking to the right opened onto a small living area. While the walls were sparsely decorated, the feel of the place fit Levi. It was open and airy, tables dotted with books on photography and Paris.

Levi took his hand and led him around the corner to where his bed and desk were. There was a shelf in the corner that held about half a dozen cameras. One was on a tripod at the corner of the bed. Erwin swallowed at the sight of it, imagining Levi kneeling nude on his bed as he adjusted the exposure.

Erwin began to shrug his jacket off, smiling as Levi stepped around to pull it off completely. He folded it neatly and set it on his desk chair before turning back and pushing Erwin down onto the edge of the bed. Erwin turned his face upward for Levi to cup with both hands. They had only kissed months before but their lips fit together with thrilling perfection.

Erwin folded his arms around Levi’s trim waist, holding him close as they acquainted themselves with the other’s taste. Each long kiss was followed by a short one to Erwin’s lips and he felt he could have stayed there forever, damn everything that might have followed.

“You really want to do this?”

Levi stood between Erwin’s knees, pressing as close as he could. Erwin ran his thumbs over Levi’s hipbones through his shirt before unbuttoning it, casting an appraising look over his chest before kissing his sternum.

“Yes, I want to unravel you completely.”

“That seems like it would be quite a task.”

“I’m up for it.”

They kissed again, Erwin running his hands over creamy skin before Levi pulled away to set up his camera.

“You’re using a digital one?”

“Yes. It makes sense for the longer sessions. Easier to edit and I don’t have to bother with developing the shots.”

Erwin thought of them, flipping through the album of his mind. He leaned back on his hands.

“You should start getting undressed.”

Erwin frowned but did as Levi suggested. Unthreading his tie and unbuttoning his shirt, he watched Levi adjust dials and positions until he turned around.

Levi studied Erwin with the eye of an artist. Erwin had just the right amount of softness to abdominals and his thighs were thick and well-muscled, evidence of regular jogging.

“Roll over.”

Erwin did. His ass was high and firm. Levi pawed it experimentally. Erwin looking over his shoulder with half-closed eyes was the reaction he had been hoping for.

Levi kicked his own slacks and underwear aside, putting a knee on the bed as Erwin rolled onto his back. He was proportionately small and gracefully strong. Erwin wanted to touch him all over, envelope him in his arms and smell his hair, massage away any aches.

“You’re still wearing your boxers,” Levi pointed out, tongue teasing the rim of Erwin’s ear. “I could fix that problem.”

“Go ahead.”

Levi was silent as a ghost as his fingers pried their way under the waistband, lips against Erwin’s skin making his belly tremble. The warm touch of tongue to cock made Erwin jump but it didn’t deter Levi, who wrapped a hand around the base and pumped twice. Erwin felt blood rush down. Levi seemed to as well, eager to lap up a drop of precome.

Erwin’s nerves tingled sweetly and he forgot about the camera as Levi swallowed him, hot, wet throat around his cock. His hand found the back of Levi’s head, anchoring himself. He pushed his hair back, wishing he had a camera to take a picture of Levi’s dark eyelashes like wet smears on his face.

When his groin tightened, Erwin pulled on Levi’s hair.

“Don’t want to come down my throat?”

Erwin nearly did at the way Levi said that.

“God, no.” Erwin’s head dropped back for a moment as he caught his breath.

Levi crawled his way back up, cock hot against Erwin’s stomach. “Me neither. I was hoping this would happen so I picked something up. It’s in the nightstand.”

Erwin pulled the drawer open to see an unopened box of condoms and a small tube of lubricant. His fingers fumbled with the box until Levi laid his hands over his. “How about you prep me while I take care of this?”

Erwin nodded, popping the lid as Levi tore open the foil square.

Levi was wonderfully vocal as Erwin stretched him, one finger followed by two as Levi lay across one of his thighs. Condom in place, Levi stroked him idly. Erwin squeezed a firm buttock, holding it aside as Levi stretched around his knuckles.

“Were you thinking about me much while I was in New York?”

Levi’s fingers twisted in the sheets. Erwin’s tone was casual as his fingers flexed. Levi’s whine was sweet, almost kitten-like. Erwin scissored his fingers and Levi’s hips jerked.

“Everyday.” Levi smeared drool across his bicep as he turned to face Erwin. Again, Erwin would have traded his kingdom for a camera. “I kept- ah, fuck.”

Erwin’s fingers slowed and then stilled. He withdrew, licking his lips at the red wetness of Levi’s hole. One day, he hoped to eat Levi out until he forgot English and sobbed for more  _en français_.

Levi turned onto his side and studied Erwin for a long moment with an intensity that made Erwin look away. Once on his knees, Levi fell in for a kiss and Erwin had no choice but to catch him, arm around his waist.

“I’m ready,” he said, spreading his legs wide until Erwin’s cock prodded his prepared hole.

Erwin hoped the camera caught Levi lowering himself down, inch by inch, until he had all he could take of him.

Levi held himself open, dropping and rising with his head thrown back. Erwin fell back onto his elbows, moving in a way that allowed their lips to meet again. Their kisses were messy, feverish. Levi’s cock smeared precome across Erwin’s chest, matting the soft hairs. Erwin bucked up when he could, causing Levi’s thighs to tense and Erwin to swallow another sweet gasp.

Levi’s arms went around his shoulders when Erwin came, riding out the last waves of his own orgasm. He admired the pattern of come on Erwin’s chest, wishing he had the strength to lick it clean.

Erwin fell back, leaving Levi to put a hand on his chest to help pull himself up and off. His smile was almost shy as he reached onto the nightstand for tissues. Those discarded, Levi wrapped himself around Erwin and refused to let him up.

“Stay,” he whispered. “Stay.”

Erwin couldn’t think of anything he wanted more.

* * *

Erwin didn’t see him for three days after that. Levi had weddings to shoot and one was in the south, requiring a train ride to the Riviera. There were a few sporadic emails across those days but nothing referring to what had happened. When Erwin left the following morning, Levi said nothing about the camera. Erwin assumed Levi knew what he was doing.

He wasn’t going to be in Paris for long this time and worried about telling Levi so. He had some vacation time saved up but what about after that?

As he struggled with this dilemma, an email showed up in his inbox. It was from Levi and came with no subject line, as usual.

He thought there would have been more than eight photos. Erwin had also expected them to be in color, although that might have been because he was unused to seeing photographs in black and white.

Each one was achingly intimate and Erwin held his breath for an instant as he saw himself, on Levi’s bed with his shirt open. He couldn’t stop staring at Levi between his knees, tongue dragging up his cock.

Erwin’s thumb grew tired flipping between each photo and he was grateful when the time to leave for another meeting arrived.

He thought about calling Levi when he went back to his hotel room but sensed he would be too busy for another more than a perfunctory greeting.

Instead, he pulled out his laptop and looked at the photos for nearly an hour, marveling at his own body through the lens of Levi’s camera.

The best shot was of Levi clutching him, face hidden against Erwin’s neck. Erwin’s arm had fallen around Levi’s back, catching the light. He had stared at the ceiling for nearly an hour, just listening to Levi breathe.

* * *

On the fourth day, Levi returned.

Erwin got his message at nearly five in the morning and lay awake until it was time to go to the office.

“I can come over after work,” he texted at lunch.

“I’d like that.”

Levi’s initial boldness had mellowed over the course of their short relationship and Erwin was beginning to miss his odd phrases and touches. In exchange, however, he got to kiss Levi’s lips and run fingers through his ink-dark hair. He got to be inside him and there was evidence of their coupling, just a reach into his jacket pocket away.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he replied before finishing his meal and getting back to work.

It was a long cab ride to Montmartre, where Levi lived. Erwin’s palms grew sweaty at the thought of seeing him again. As soon as he pressed the intercom for Levi’s flat, he was buzzed in. He all but skipped up the steps, about to knock when the door opened.

“Hey.”

Erwin found himself with two arms full of Levi, mouth already devastated by open-mouthed kisses. He managed to close the door with his foot without dropping him.

“I missed you,” Levi said against his jaw.

Erwin carried him into the bedroom, tilting his head to the side so Levi could nibble along his neck.

Levi pushed Erwin’s jacket off without breaking contact, growling softly when Erwin dropped him onto the bed. He bounced twice.

“Christ, I could eat you whole.”

Levi ran a foot along the inside of Erwin’s thigh. “I take it you’ve been thinking about the photos?”

“I’ve been thinking about you.” Erwin’s fingers went to the buttons of his dress shirt.

“Oh?” Levi rolled onto his stomach, looking at Erwin over his shoulder. “What have you been thinking about with regards to me?”

“About how badly I’ve wanted to lick you open all damn day. Imagine how that would look on camera, Levi.” Erwin touched two fingers to the waistband of Levi’s sleeping pants, running them down along the crease. “Glossy skin right where you become the most intimate.”

“Someone’s been thinking about aesthetics,” Levi mumbled as Erwin’s hands went around him, tugging his sleeping pants off his hips and down his legs. They fell to the floor with a soft shush. Levi fidgeted impatiently as Erwin rolled up his sleeves.

Erwin looked toward the camera, noticing the timer light was on.

Dropping to his knees, Erwin pulled Levi close with hands on his thighs close to his knees. Nose against the juncture of buttock and thigh, Erwin inhaled. Levi smelled of cold water and soap. He could hear Levi’s breath falter as he pressed soft kisses toward the center.

Erwin pried him open with strong, sure fingers. Levi’s hole trembled against his tongue. He kept it flat and broad, wet and teasing. Erwin wanted Levi babbling with pleasure when he was done.

The crisp fabric of his shirt made Levi’s skin jump and ache. Erwin spread him wider, slipping his tongue inside, sealing his lips around Levi’s hole.

Levi’s hand went around his own cock, jerking in time with Erwin’s ministration.

Erwin wished they were recording this, the sound of his breath bursting from his nostrils to dampen Levi’s skin or the way Levi was holding back. He moved down, running the edge of his teeth against his perineum.

Levi yelped, almost kicking out until Erwin licked his way back up, flicking his tongue inside. He tightened around Erwin’s tongue when he came, a choked gasp ending his orgasm.

As much as Erwin wanted to fuck Levi’s spit-wet hole, he wanted sleep and skin-against-skin more. He helped Levi roll onto his back, cleaning him up with tissues. Removing the rest of his clothes, Erwin climbed onto the bed and massaged Levi’s limbs and chest with slow, firm strokes.

“Ha… ha. Mmm.” Levi’s chest rose and fell like a stormy sea. “I’d say let’s get something to eat but you must be full after that.”

Levi could feel Erwin’s smile against his hip.

“Let’s do that in the morning.”

Levi touched his cheek, thumb brushing Erwin’s bright eyelashes. “Okay.”

* * *

They had breakfast early. Erwin needed to get to the office and Levi had photos to edit. He said nothing about pictures from last night.

“What?”

Erwin picked up another pain au chocolat, biting into its flaky crust as Levi gave him another sour look.

“This is entirely unfair. I really want to crawl across this table and-”

“What’s stopping you?”

Levi rolled his eyes and picked up his tea cup. “My pride as a Frenchman.”

Erwin laughed, taking up Levi’s hand on the table. He brought it to his mouth for a kiss. Levi’s knuckles tasted clean on his tongue. “I have to return to the States soon.” Levi tried to take his hand back but Erwin’s grip tightened. “I’m going to arrange things so I can take my vacation sooner. I want to stay here with you.”

“You should stay here forever. I still have a lot of photographic series in mind for us.”

‘Well,’ Erwin thought, ‘that’s an option as well.’

* * *

Erwin made copious notes on the flight back, weighing the pros and cons. Some web browsing before his flight told him he could stay in France for ninety days without a visa as long as he was a tourist and not actively looking for employment. He had more than enough savings to keep himself afloat for a while.

He went through the small photo book and Levi’s blog - he had posted the images of them together after Erwin gave permission - and took a deep breath. He had his job and a few friends in New York but that was all the city had to offer him. Scrubbing a hand through his hair, Erwin thought about calling Levi to get his opinion on the matter but he already knew what he would say.

He wanted the freedom and adventure he experienced in Paris with Levi but starting a new life was a terrifying thing for anyone.

Erwin took a shower and went to bed. Aloud, he said he would call Levi in the morning.

* * *

Levi answered his phone on the third ring, reaching blindly for the device as he edited images. “Yeah?”

“Hey.”

Levi lost all interest in the files on the computer screen and spun around in his chair to face the bed.

“How was your flight?”

“Nothing too exciting. I… Would you mind having a house guest for a while?”

“For how long?”

“I can be in France without a visa for three months.”

“I suppose I could let you crash on my sofa, is that the expression?”

“Yes, Levi. That’s the expression.”

There was a full minute of silence before Levi spoke again.

“I’m going to send you a list of some ideas. If you want, that is.”

“I do. Alright, I need to go.”

“Erwin.”

“Yes?”

“Check my blog tonight. There will be some images of interest to you at about ten o’clock.”

“I really can’t wait to see you again, Levi.”

Levi swung back towards his computer. The light caught Erwin’s hair, veins in the back of his hands full of blood as he held Levi open, eyes closed in bliss as he sucked and kissed and licked.

“Me neither.”

* * *

He would have to go back soon to make final arrangements for his apartment and furniture but Erwin didn’t look back after getting on the plane. Nile and Marie were expecting him and Levi for Thanksgiving that year so he could tie up any loose ends then.

Erwin tapped his fingers on the armrest, waiting patiently for the next step in this adventure.

* * *

Erwin called before leaving the airport and Levi waited, opening the doors that faced the street in the hope of hearing the cab pull up. There wasn’t much for him to do in terms of tidying up since everything was already orderly. Water for tea was kept warm on the small stove and a box containing four perfect pain au chocolat set on the tray that was already loaded up with cups, spoons, and an empty carafe waiting for fresh, cold cream. His fingers kept turning the cups, debating on the best position of the handles with regards to the tray.

The intercom buzzed. Levi left the mugs in their last arbitrary position before throwing his door open. He met Erwin on the flagstones downstairs. He looked around his feet.

“Where’s your luggage? I thought you would have brought more.”

Erwin held up his suitcase, not much bigger than a carryon. “Just some clothes and a few sentimental knick-knacks. I don’t need much to start a new life.”

“So, you’re staying for good?” Levi scratched his left calf with his right big toe.

Erwin leaned over, cupping Levi’s face with his free hand. “ _Absolument_ , M. Ackerman,” he breathed against his mouth.


End file.
